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i890.] Zoology. 78I
Acad. Arts and Sci., Vol. XX., p. 336.. . . Masclef s Atlas des
P/an/esde France u/i/es, e/ornamen/aleshas reached Part X.,
nfuisables
and continuesits promiseof excellence. The laternumbershave con-
tained notably finecolored figuresof Ononsspinosa, Medicgo saliva,
Coo/ueaarbor-escens, Pisum sa/ivunm, Coronizla varia, Arnygdaluscorn-
munui's,Persica vullgari's,Pruz-usspinosa,and Cerasus vulgaris. .
Parts44 and 45 of Engler and Prantl'sDie Na/urnichen PflanzenfamiZiel?
continue the Euphorbiacew, complete the Myrsinacem,Primulacem,
Plumbaginaceac, and begin the Sapotacex. The last-namedorder is
elaborated by Engler, the othersby Pax.. . . ProfessorGardiner and
Mr. Brace published in the Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. an interesting
provisionallist of the plants of the BaIama Islands.... Anotherof
the numerousvaluable contributionsfromthe CryptogamicLaboratory
of Harvard Universityhas made its appearance in Proc. Am. Acad. Arts
and Sciences, Vol. XXV., p. 53, by Wm. A. Setchell, on the " Structure
and Developmentof Tuomeyafluvia/izis,a red seaweed (Floy-idea)inter-
mediatebetweenLemanea and Batrachospermum.. . . The May num-
ber of Pi//oniais an unusuallyinterestingone, dealing as it does in its
peculiarly sprightlyway with half a dozen or more topics. The
review of the new edition of G ay's Manual contains much plain
talking,some of which may be deserved, while much certainlyis not.
ZOOLOGY.
Snakes in High Places ! -A discussion occurred some time
ago in THE NATURALIST upon thequestion," Do SnakesClimbTrees?"
to which I contributedone or two items. But just now my farmer
friend,Hiram Carpenter,who lives three miles out of town, invited
me to call at his place and see where he founda snake four feetand
three inches in lengthand one and a half inches in diameter. The
swallowsnest under the eaves of his barn, which project some twenty
inches fromthe building. The raftersdo not.run out more than one-
halfor two-thirdsof thisdistance,the space betweenthem being quite
thicklystuddedwiththe mud-nestsof the swallows. One pleasant day
in Junehis son noticed quite a commotionamong the birds,and called
him to the spot. They were amazed to see a large snake clinging to
the end of a rafter,withits head in one of the nests,evidentlydevour-
ing the young birds. The reptilewas able to cling to the end of the
rafterby hugging it tightly,and was only dislodged aftersome effort.
782 The American Naturalist. rAugust,
It had swallowed two young birds, and anotherwas part way down its
throat. The young man had not " believed in killing snakes," but on
thisoccasion he despatchedthe reptileforthwith. The barn is sheeted
up withrough pine boards, upon which thereare two coats of paint,
and fromthe ground to the point whence the snake was dislodged the
distance is nineteenfeetand fourinches. How it managed to get to
the spot seems altogethera mystery. There was no hole throughthe
side of the barn nor under the roof boards, nor did it seem possible
forit to have worked its way fromthe top of the roof. Then, it was
quite as difficultfor it to have found a way to the roof. Mr. Car-
penter is a most reliable observerof all natural phenomena,-an in-
vestigator,really,-but he was unable to formany opinion as to how
the reptilereached its prey. He described it as resemblingthe com-
mon garter-snake,except in the matterof its great size, hence I could
form no idea as to the species to which it belonged.-CHARLES AL-
DRICH, WebsterCity, Iowa, July, 141, 1890.
Snakes in Banana Bunches.-Banana bunches brought from
tropicalAmetica sometimescontain snakes of the familyBoidm, tightly
wound round the central stem. A specimen of this kind was taken
in Savanna, Georgia, and was sent to the United States National
Museum. I identifiedit as the Epicrates aug-uw1ifer,a native of Cuba.
More recentlya snake was found in a similar situation in a lot ot
bananas in Chicago, and was sent by Dr. J. L. Hancock to the Na-.
tional Museum. Dr. Stejneger has identifiedit as the Boa z'noerator,
the common species of Central America and Mexico. The specimens
are always young, as adult boas of the genera named could not be con-
cealed in so small a space.-E. D. COPE.
ENTOMOLOGY.